One Job
by thousand-miles
Summary: Michael gets injured on an away mission. Lorca gets angry and shows his feelings.


His heart thudded loudly in his chest as he made his way to sick bay. Someone from the away team had been injured and he didn't know who or how serious it was. There were four possibilities: Tyler, Tilly, Stamets and Burnham. Though he didn't want any of them hurt, there was one that frightened him the most. He wasn't going to go there though; no need to jump to conclusions. Yet.

Regaining control of his emotions, Lorca took a calming breath before he walked into sickbay.

"Report," he ordered. He saw several people crowding around one of the beds, but none of them turned to acknowledge him. He immediately saw Tyler and Tilly, so it meant that either Stamets or Burnham was injured.

"She's going to be okay, right?" He heard Tilly ask.

Damn, it was Burnham who was hurt.

"Culber, report," he ordered again. It was only then that the others noticed him. They all stepped aside, giving him a clear view of her limp body lying on the bed. It was the first time he could ever recall seeing Michael Burnham this small and vulnerable looking. He swallowed thickly. He needed to stay in control. Needed to keep his emotions in check. He clenched his fists to stop himself from reaching out and touching her.

"Captain," Doctor Culber said to get his attention. "Specialist Burnham has suffered a blow to the head, knocking her unconscious. Her shoulder dislocated but is set again. Other than that she has some cuts and bruises. She'll be okay but no duty for at least a week and then we'll reevaluate . She needs to stay in sick bay overnight, but after that she can return to her room."

"Thank you Doctor." His eyes swept over her body, lingering on her face; again he yearned to touch her. Only then would he truly belive she was safe and back with him, but he couldn't. Not while everyone was watching him. He turned towards his crew and waited for an explanation and apparently no one was willing to talk. That didn't help his already darkening mood.

"What the hell happened?" He barked.

Tilly jumped slightly and took a step back. Stamets just looked at Tyler, and Tyler refused to make eye contact. Again no one spoke. "Start talking, now!"

Finally, Ash was the one brave enough to talk. "There were no indications of life on the planet, sir. Nothing showed up on our scans. We assumed it was safe and we all went our separate ways."

"You, what?" He interrupted Tyler. "Who made that decision?"

Tilly, who could feel the tension grow thicker, decided to step in. "We were looking for any evidence that the Klingons had been there and found none. Michael suggested that we check the caves separately to cover more ground in a shorter amount of time. It was more efficient and we agreed."

"You all thought that going into an unknown cave alone was a good idea?" He questioned, looking at each one of them.

Stamets finally decided to speak up.

"The three of us waited for Burnham to come back after we had searched our own caves. When we realized she had been gone too long, we went in and searched for her. I found her unconscious on the ground. There'd been no evidence that someone else had been there, but judging from her injury something had been.

"So we don't know who hurt her?"

Three heads shook simultaneously. He mulled over their words, feeling a headache coming on. So it had been Burnham's decision for each of them to go in alone. She often ignored her own safety much to his own annoyance, he would need to talk to her about that. Still one of them should have known better. He turned towards his Security Officer and motioned his head towards the exit, indicating Tyler should follow him.

Once they were out of earshot, he spoke. "What's your function on this ship?" His voice was low and dangerous.

"I'm the Chief Security Officer." Ash muttered. He knew his Captain was a force to be reckoned with, and when you made him angry, it was best to run and hide; and he sure felt like running and hiding.

"And your job is?"

"To eliminate threats and make sure the security on this ship is functioning as it should."

Glaring at Tyler, Captain Lorca took a step closer. "And why exactly were you on this away mission?"

Ash had to look away from Lorca's intense eyes as he took a step back and mumbled. "To make sure no one gets hurt and potential threats are eliminated."

Lorca had backed Tyler up until his spine hit the wall. "You bring her back in one piece." He poked him in the chest. "Or don't come back at all," he practically growled. "Clearly you failed at both."

Ash opened his mouth to reply, but at seeing his Captain's seething anger, he decided it was best to keep his mouth shut.

Lorca hated it that Tyler didn't answer. He wanted to be provoked, to be given a reason to beat the shit out of the man who had failed at his job to keep her safe. "Get the hell out of here." He stepped back to give Tyler space to get out of his sight.

"No, I need to stay to make sure she'll be all right."

It was all he needed to hear. He grabbed Tyler by his jacket and pushed him against the wall hard. It was then that he felt arms holding him back and preventing him from hitting Tyler in the face.

"Take your leave Lieutenant." First Officer Saru calmly ordered as he pushed the Captain further away. He had been called to sick bay by the CMO who had seen the situation escalating. When Sary had entered sick bay, he had been surprised. Captain Lorca looked like he had been ready to beat the crap out of Lieutenant Tyler. That's why the First Officer had acted quickly and grabbed the Captain; preventing him from doing anything stupid.

Quickly realizing what he had almost done, Lorca looked around and saw that all eyes were on him. He quickly averted his own and watched Tyler walk away. When the door closed behind his security officer, Lorca kept his back towards the others and tried to calm down. He had let his own fear and his feelings get the better of him. It had been a long time since that had happened to him.

Seeing he was no longer needed Saru quietly left. He would make sure there would be no gossip about this incident among the crew.

Cadet Tilly had curiously observed the past few minutes with barely contained giddiness. She was concerned about her friend, of course, but extremely excited about what had just transpired right in front of her. She looked at Stamets and noticed that he was just as intrigued. There was something going on between her friend and the Captain. She had noticed it quite quickly, but hadn't spoken to Michael about it. Tilly had suspected she was imagining things, but clearly she hadn't been. She wasn't sure about Michael's feelings for her Captain, and Ash had been trying to spend more time with Michael lately, who seemed open to that. However when it came to Captain Lorca, Michael acted differently. While with Ash she was confident and controlled with Lorca she seemed somewhat unsure of herself and irresolute at times.

Stamets coughed lightly and hooked his thumb towards the door. It was time for them to go. Before walking through the doors, Tilly turned towards her Captain. "Take car of her, sir."


End file.
